Woman rows from S.F. to Hawaii

San Francisco

Roz Savage smiles after reaching land in Hawaii, 99 days after setting off from San Francisco in what is a quest to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean

Roz Savage smiles after reaching land in Hawaii, 99 days after setting off from San Francisco in what is a quest to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean

Photo: Courtesy Of Roz Savage

Photo: Courtesy Of Roz Savage

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Roz Savage smiles after reaching land in Hawaii, 99 days after setting off from San Francisco in what is a quest to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean

Roz Savage smiles after reaching land in Hawaii, 99 days after setting off from San Francisco in what is a quest to become the first woman to row solo across the Pacific Ocean

Photo: Courtesy Of Roz Savage

Woman rows from S.F. to Hawaii

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Ninety-nine days after she rowed west beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, Roz Savage on landed Monday in a much different setting: Hawaii.

Savage, who set out from San Francisco on May 25 in an attempt to become the first woman to row alone across the Pacific Ocean, rowed before dawn through the choppy waters of Molokai Channel off Waikiki. After daylight she was met by supporters in a boat dispatched by the Waikiki Yacht Club.

The English-born Savage rowed the Atlantic Ocean in 2005, then spent two years in the cottage of a Woodside supporter while lining up sponsors for what is projected to be a three-part, 7,200-mile journey ending in Australia. She first set off in her customized 24-foot rowboat last year, but that launch foundered after 10 days.

This summer, though, Savage was able to settle into a routine of days spent rowing for 12 to 15 hours, followed in part by updating her Web site via modem and satellite phone.

Savage, who describes the goal of her voyage as "trying to raise awareness of the amount of plastic pollution in the ocean," will resume rowing next spring.

Besides food, a sea anchor and two laptop computers, Savage traveled with four iPods containing audio books - a diversion she didn't have on the Atlantic.

"I listened to 62 books," Savage said in a telephone call from her Waikiki hotel. "They passed the time and helped keep me sane."